Tech-savvy workers to drive innovation

Internet-based technologies will directly add $70 billion a year to the Australian economy by 2017, the Australian Industry Group/Deloitte report says, and the web has become a 'change agent' that can boost productivity.

The efforts of government

But in spite of the efforts of government and institutions just as universities and industry innovation networks, the report reveals that the key source of information about new technologies for most companies is their own workforce.

Deloitte national research, media and telecommunications leader Damien Tampling says it's a trend that smart companies will use to their advantage.

'It's interesting in the last couple of years how many more employees in most industries are starting to bring research and innovation know-how into their workplaces,' Mr Tampling said.

'Employees are turning up to work with their traditional PC in accordance with one arm, their iPod, their Blackberry and their iPhone and at that time an iPad pursuant to this agreement the other.'

The amount of software that's available in the cloud

'With the amount of software that's available in the cloud and on the internet, consumers are coming across pieces of software ... and they're saying: Why don't we use this software to manage our data' or Why don't we use this mapping program that I used the other day to find a hotel to map our manufacturing sites'.

Only 30 per cent of the CEOs surveyed in the Business Investment in New Technologies report said they had a high degree of understanding and preparedness to capitalise on opportunities that would come with the high-speed national broadband network.

It as well found that collaboration on new technologies between industry and innovation institutions was very low, and that tax concessions offered for investment in new research were only seen as positive by about a quarter of companies.